Form for concrete columns



Nov. 28, 1933. E. E. HALL FORM FOR CONCRETE coLuMNs Filed May 9, 1930 2Sheets-Sheet 1 "llllll Hun" .ltfllllllllliullll llll! l 1 l Nov. 28,1933. E. E. HALL FORM Fon CONCRETE COLUMNS Filed May 9, 1930 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 28, 1933 UNETED STATES PATENT oFFlfcEClaims.

My invention is concerned with forms for concrete columns, concretewalls, etc. and a novel method of erecting and removing the same and isdesigned to produce such a form that can be 5 easily assembled on abench, i. e., in a horizontal position, and then placed for use in avertical position, and so that when the concrete is poured and set, theform can be removed with a minimum of effort ready for re-use, thusenabling me to construct such columns at a cost substantially less thanhas been possible heretofore.

It is also concerned with such a column form that can be adjusted tomake columns of difl ferentsizes, such as are used on different floorsl5 in tall buildings, the size of the columns being diminished as thehigher floors of the structure are reached.

To these ends it consists of the novel combination of elementshereinafter generally described, and particularly dened by the claims.

To illustrate my invention, I annex hereto two sheets of drawings inwhich the same reference characters are used to designate identicalparts and all the figures, of which- Fig. 1 is a horizontal section otheY form in place, as seen on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the form in place, with portions thereofbroken out;

Figs. 3 and 4 are details in section on the lines 3 3 and 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing a round instead of asquare column and in section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the form for the V round column with oneof the connecting barsremoved as it would be in the process ofdismantling the form after the column is set. e,

Referring rst to Figs. 1 to 4, where a form for a coliunn square incross section is shown, the form is made up of the'four side members 10which are made of sheet metal, and where the columns are small each sidepiece will be made up of a single piece of sheet metal. Where thecolumns are large,`and especiallyvwhere the form is to be adjustable forcolumns of diierent size', each side member is made up of the two outersections having their inner ends offset, as seen at 11, and connected byan intermediate strip 12 bolted thereto, the intermediate strips 12 ofcourse being of different widths for different sized columns. The outerportions and the intermediate strip 12 are connected by short bolts andnuts in a manner which will be readily understood. 1f the column is of aconsiderable height, the side members may be made in sections, the

sections of course being symmetrical and of exactly the same size sothat they will be secured firmly together to form a continuous columnwithout any crevices through which leakage of the concrete could occurwhen the side members are assembled and secured to the connecting bars.

These connecting bars 13, where square columns are to be formed, aremade of angle irons, and have apertures 14 formed therein to registerwith the outwardly directed headed projections 15 which are secured tothe edges of the side members 10 in the necessary locations to registerwith the apertures 14 when the forms are assembled. As will be apparent,the apertures 14 have their upper ends large enough to' receive 70 theheads of the projections 15, and their lower ends are reduced so as toaccommodate only the necks oi the projections, so that when theconnecting bars are put in place, they are first lo- Y Y cated in aposition where their ends register with the ends of the side members, asis necessary for the heads to enter the enlarged portions of theapertures, and then the connecting bars are slid upwardly, so to speak,on the side members and the parts are connected as shown in Fig. 2.

' Thisl assembly can be made with the parts in a horizontal positionwith much less trouble than if the assembly had to be made Ywith theentire column in a vertical position. When the parts are thus assembled,they are taken to the location, and placed over the reinforcing rods,assuming such are used, and the connecting bars are held in their thenraised position by the blocks or wedges 16 which constitute an essen- .Ytial part of the combination during theuse of the forms. It will beobvious that when the concrete has been poured in thecoluinn, and hasfinally set, the removal of the form will be a very simple matter, asall that is necessary is to knock out the blocks or wedges 16, afterwhich the connecting bars 13 can be easily forced down,

ii theydo not dropdown, and with the heads' 15 registering with thelarge portions of theapertures 14, they can be pulled off and the sidemembers removed.

Where columns of a considerable height are tobe formed, it is necessaryto brace the side members 10 to prevent their bulging out under thehydrostatic pressure of the concrete,.which is` substantially liquidwhen it is poured. For this purpose, at suitable points on theconnecting bars, I placeon one flange thereof the headed projections 17,and on. the other flange the threaded studs 18 adapted to have thewingnuts 19 screwed thereon, and I provide the brace bars 110 2G whichwill be of a length equal to the greatest possible width of the columnsfor which the form is adapted, and which will have at one end theapertures 21 similar to the apertures 14, but reversed, and with thelarge portion adapted to receive the heads 17 at the lower side. At theother end I provide a series of spaced open recesses 22, one of whichwill t over the stud 18, depending upon the size of the column, and willthen be secured in place by the wing nut 19. These brace bars 20 willpreferably be located at junctions of the sections of the side members,and the short bolts and nuts 23, where the intermediate pieces 12 areused will be of the. proper length so that the vertical flange of theangle irons 20 will be engaged thereby. Y

Where the columns to be constructed are round, as shown in Figs. 5 and6, the side meinbers will be of the same construction, but curved ofcourse on the are of a circle, and the side members li)n and theconnecting bars 13a will be preferably constructed of T-bars, which willbe curved to correspond to the curvature of the side members. In bothcases, the lower ends of the connecting bars 13 and 13EL will have theirflanges bent horizontally to form the projections 24 adapted to rest onthe blocks 16.

While I have specifically illustrated my invention as applied to themaking of concrete columns, it will be understood that the fundamentalstructure and method might be applied to the construction er" concretewalls, which may be considered as columns very much elongatedhorizontally.

While I have shown and described my invention as employed in the formwhich at present I consider best adapted to carry out its purposes, itwill be understoodV that it is capable of modifications, and that I donot desire to be limited in the interpretation of the following claimsexcept as may be necessitated by the state of the prior art.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patentisz- 1. In a device of the class described, the combination with aplurality of side members adapted when assembled to form a completeenclosure for the projected concrete column and provided along theiradjacent edges with headed outwardly directed projections securedthereto, of a correspending plurality of connecting bars provided withvertically elongated slots therein large enough at their upper ends toreceive the heads of the projections and at their lower ends to receiveonly the necks thereof, and removable supports for the lower ends of thebars, all combined and cooperating for the purpose described.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a pluralityof side members adapted when assembled to form a complete enclosure forthe projected concrete column and provided along their adjacent edgeswith headed outwardly directed projections, of a corresponding pluralityof connecting bars provided with vertically elongated slots thereinlarge enough at their upper ends to receive the heads of the projectionsand at their lower ends to receive only the necks thereof, and removablesupports for thelower ends of the bars, said side members being providedwith detachable central sections which can be removed and replaced withothers of dierent widths to Vary the size of the columns, all combinedand cooperating for the purpose described. y3. In a device of the classdescribed, the cornbination with a plurality of side members adaptedwhen assembled to form a complete enclosure for the projected concretecolumn and provided along their adjacent edges with headed outwardlydirected projections secured thereto, of a corresponding plurality ofconnecting bars provided with vertically elongated slots therein largeenough at their upper ends to receive the heads of the projections andat their lower ends to receive only the necks thereof, removablesupports for the lower ends of the bars, a corresponding plurality ofhorizontal brace bars, and means for detachably securing said brace barsto the vertical connecting bars to prevent the side members fromyielding outwardly under the pressure of the concrete.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination with a pluralityof side members adapted when assembled to form a complete enclosure forthe projected concrete column and provided along their adjacent edgeswith headed outwardly directed projections secured thereto, of acorresponding plurality of connecting bars provided with verticallyelongated slots therein large enough at their upper ends to receive theheads of the projections and at their lower ends to receive only thenecks thereof, removable supports for theV lower ends of the bars, acorresponding plurality of horizontal brace bars, means for de'-tachably securing said brace bars to the vertical connecting bars toprevent the side members from yielding outwardly under the pressure ofthe concrete, said means consisting of a headed projection on a verticalbar foreach brace bar cooperating with a bayonet slot in one end of thebrace bar and a threaded projection and cooperating wing nut on theconnected 'vertical bar adapted to cooperate with a plurality of spacedrecesses in the other end of the brace bar.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with a. pluralityof side members adapted when assembled to forma complete enclosure forthe projected concrete column, of a corresponding plurality ofconnecting bars, and removable supports for the lower ends of the bars,said side members andr connecting bars being provided withV interlockingmechanism which holds them securely together when the lower ends of theconnecting bars arev raised above the side members and rest on the'supports, and which releases them when the supports are removed and theconnecting bars are allowed to drop.

6. The novel method of erecting and removing forms for concrete y.structural elements which consists in (1)' connecting while in ahorizontal position the side pieces having headed projections alongtheir edges by connecting bars co-operating with said edges and havingslots therein with enlargements at their upper ends co-operating withthe projections; (2) raising the assembled forms to vertical positionwith supports underneath the bottom of the connecting bars to retain thenecks of the projections in the narrow portions of vthe slots; (3)rremoving the supports sothat the connecting bars can drop to bring theenlargements of the slots into register with the heads of theprojections; and

in with enlargements at their upper ends cooperating with theprojections; (2) securing horizontal brace bars around the assembledparts intermediate their ends; (3) raising the assembled orms tovertical position with supports underneath the bottom of the connectingbars to retain the necks of the projections in the narrow portions ofthe slots; (fl) removing the horizontal brace bars; (5) removing thesupports so that the connecting bars can drop to bring the enlargementsof the slots into register with the heads of the projections; and (6)i'irst removing the connecting bars and then the side pieces byhorizontal movements thereof.

8. In a device of the class described, the combinaton with a pluralityof side members adapted when assembled to form an enclosure for theprojected concrete structural element and 'provided along their adjacentedges with headed outwardly-directed projections secured thereto, of acorresponding plurality of connecting bars provided with verticallyelongated slots therein large enough at their upper ends to receive theheads o the projections and at their lower ends to receive only thenecks thereof, and removable supports for the lower ends cf the bars,all ccmbined and co-operating in the manner and for the purposedescribed.

9. In a device of the class described, the combination with a pluralityof side members adapted when assembled to form an enclosure for theprojected concrete structural element, of a cor- :responding pluralityof connecting bars, and removable supports for the lower ends of thebars, said side members and connecting bars being provided withinterlocking mechanism i which holds them securely together when thelower ends of the connecting bars are raised above the side members andrest on the supports, and which releases them when the supports areremoved and the connecting bars are allowed to drop.

10. In a form for concrete construction, moldsections arranged angularlywith respect to each other and with their edges in abutment, rigidheaded pins on the outer faces of said moldsections adjacent theadjoining edges thereof, and a joining strip comprising flanges arrangedat an angle with respect to each other corresponding to the anglebetween said mold sections, each flange having slots therein and each ofsaid slots being enlarged at one end for the reception of one of saidpins and restricted at the other end whereby the pins may be firmlyengaged within said slots by sliding the strip upon the mold sections,

ERIC E. HALL.

